Audi sees a future for diesel

Brand still investing in oil-burners despite emissions scandal.

1 / 1 photos

Audi insists that there is a strong future for diesel engines, despite the scandal in 2015 which saw the German luxury brand slammed with massive fines, a big hit to its reputation and the arrest of some key executives including CEO Rupert Stadler.

Though considered evil by many consumers and an irredeemable technology by environmental critics, diesel engines are not being consigned to history, not yet and not at Audi, says the brand’s director of global communications product and technology, Peter Oberndorfer.

Oberndorfer confirmed that while diesels are not forever, Audi was “still investing” in diesel technology and “still developing” product, new and existing.

“For the foreseeable future, certain customers – those who drive lots of miles – need diesel. It is not for everyone, sure. But it is still a good solution for big cars. We need it too, for C02 reasons.

“We have objective measurements for new Audi diesels and they make me very happy. We have done our job there. We have very clean diesels right now.”

Oberndorfer said that whilst Audi has a major focus on petrol engines and the electrification of its model range, the demand for diesels remains. He pointed to Korea as one market showing rising interest.

The ongoing deployment of diesels in the VW and Audi products is being handled delicately as the German brands work hard to restore trust following the biggest disgrace in their history.

Only three years ago, the Volkswagen Group admitted to deliberately installing software known as defeat devices to trick laboratory emissions tests for a number of diesel models. In real-world testing, some were discovered to pollute upward of 40 times more than the allowed limit.

In all, the scandal hit an estimated 11 million cars around the world. The Volkswagen Group has paid billions of dollars in fines and compensation linked to Dieselgate.